Zurich homes fetch record prices
The prices for home ownership in the canton of Zurich rose to new record levels in 2021. Rental prices also increased compared to 2020. This shows the current real estate barometer of the Zürcher Kantonalbank. As a background, she cites long waiting times for building permits.
"Zurich's home prices are skyrocketing," writes the Zürcher Kantonalbank ( ZKB ) in its real estate barometer for the fourth quarter of 2021 . According to the analysts at ZKB, prices for residential property in the Canton of Zurich rose by an average of 9.3 percent year-on-year to new record levels. The analysts account for the highest increase of 11.3 percent for residential property in the lake communities and the city of Zurich.
Rents also achieved “the highest overall annual growth since the end of 2014” in the reporting period, the barometer continues. The analysts attribute this to the currently falling figures for vacant apartments “in combination with robust immigration”. In the city of Zurich, on the other hand, “the centers lost their attractiveness during the pandemic”. Here, rents increased by only 0.5 percent year-on-year.
The analysts also cite the long approval period for the construction of apartment buildings as a background for the developments. The approval period for major projects has almost doubled since 2001 from 183 to 324 days. "High-density construction often generates areas of friction and often leads to lengthy appeals and delays," the analysts explain. As a result, the implementation of many major projects is no longer decided in the Zurich building department, but in court. Ultimately, however, "in most cases a solution" can be found.